Chipped/cracked bridge after less than a year

[sqwerl]

I had a permanently cemented bridge installed less than a year ago and it has chipped and cracked on one tooth. I can see the chip well and the crack hasn't separated, I can just slightly feel it with my fingernail and see it. I didn't abuse the bridge or have any hard impact, I was just eating as normal.

Could there be any kind of lab warranty on this since it is less than a year old and should my insurance help? It was done at the office of a well known and respected dentist.

I know I need to talk to her office ASAP but I'm really worried right now. I had to pay $1200 out of pocket and I can't possibly pay that again as I won't have that finance amount paid off until a few months.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jessica]

Broken bridge

Bridge should not break so soon. You have to refer to your dentist for this. He will remove the bridge and will send it to the bad for repair. For the time being, avoid eating from that side of bridge and maintain good oral hygiene to avoid any gum infections

 

[sqwerl]

Bridge should not break so soon. You have to refer to your dentist for this. He will remove the bridge and will send it to the bad for repair. For the time being, avoid eating from that side of bridge and maintain good oral hygiene to avoid any gum infections. For more info on dental bridge, you can refer to following article...

I went to my dentist a couple of days after my first post. She agreed the bridge shouldn't have broken so soon that maybe it didn't have the full integrity it should.

She ground down just enough of the porcelain bridge to fit me with a porcelain veneer. There was no need to remove the entire bridge.
She said that even if the lab were to charge her she wouldn't charge me. I just worry that if this were to happen a couple of years down the road I would probably have to pay what my insurance wouldn't pay which is usually a lot of money. I may try to get some supplemental insurance.

 

[Thomas Bird]

I went to my dentist a couple of days after my first post. She agreed the bridge shouldn't have broken so soon that maybe it didn't have the full integrity it should.

She ground down just enough of the porcelain bridge to fit me with a porcelain veneer. There was no need to remove the entire bridge.
She said that even if the lab were to charge her she wouldn't charge me. I just worry that if this were to happen a couple of years down the road I would probably have to pay what my insurance wouldn't pay which is usually a lot of money. I may try to get some supplemental insurance.

I am 44 and have been through two bridges in my life my friend, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you are in for a long road of dental problems. Dentists like doing bridges because they are very profitable for them. They can charge alot of money per crown for a minimal amount of work and its very good for them. Unfortunately for the patient, it is a miracle if you get 10 years out of a bridge with no problems. They put a tremendous amount of stress on your roots leaving you with a removable denture as your only option when the bridge eventually fails. All you are doing with a bridge is trading one set of dental problems today for an even greater set of dental problems tomorrow. The teeth you have capped now will sooner or later need to be pulled entirely and replaced with a partial removable denture and there is simply no way around that fact.

 

[sqwerl]

I am 44 and have been through two bridges in my life my friend, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you are in for a long road of dental problems. Dentists like doing bridges because they are very profitable for them. They can charge alot of money per crown for a minimal amount of work and its very good for them. Unfortunately for the patient, it is a miracle if you get 10 years out of a bridge with no problems. They put a tremendous amount of stress on your roots leaving you with a removable denture as your only option when the bridge eventually fails. All you are doing with a bridge is trading one set of dental problems today for an even greater set of dental problems tomorrow. The teeth you have capped now will sooner or later need to be pulled entirely and replaced with a partial removable denture and there is simply no way around that fact.

Some dentists are better than others just like doctors, nurses, or anyone that provides a service. Did the same dentist do both of your bridges? Was it a PFM (porcelain fused to metal) or pure porcelain bridge? PFM bridges are stronger. Did you take care of your bridge by flossing under it every day and flossing around the real teeth on both ends of the bridge? How many teeth did you have bridged? If it were quite a few teeth then the bridge would put a lot of strain on the end teeth and there may have been better options. Other than that, there shouldn't have been a reason for you to have problems out of the capped end teeth. There are no sure things dealing with teeth, so telling me without a doubt my capped teeth will eventually need to be pulled may or may not be true. Telling someone your problems will eventually become their problems is just a blanket statement and flat out guess.

Yes, there are tradeoffs to bridges but depending on your own dental situation it may or may not be worth it to go with a removable partial. When I was 13, I had my front left tooth totally knocked out and I had a removable partial until I was 17 when my teeth had matured enough to be fit with a 3 unit bridge. I wouldn't trade the 17 years I had no problems and kept that annoying partial for anything in the world.

Dentists have to make profit to stay in business and the lab has to profit as well. My two partials were not cheap either. They are so annoying to deal with. You should take them out every night and have to soak them in denture solution. Then, even if you use denture adhesive and actually get it to stay well, you still can't bite into things as well. They often come loose and you have to reglue or go with it loose until the next day. Food gets impacted around it's edges, maybe up under it, and you have a piece of plastic you can constantly feel inside your mouth. I had a new partial made which I kept for six months this time around and couldn't wait to get a bridge. I HATE partials.

You're bad experience doesn't mean everyone will have a "long road of dental problems." To each his own and if you prefer partials that's fine. It seems like you are hell bent on pushing your thoughts on others. Anyone with missing teeth is going to have dental problems which will probably continue as more bone loss occurs, regardless of whether you have a bridge or partial.

You're wrong about bridges and partials being the only options. Implants are also an option. Very, very expensive but you normally get a bone graft if you've had any bone loss due to missing teeth and rods are implanted into the bone to which "teeth" can be attached. These often look less natural than bridges, though.

My insurance only pays half on bridges so if you feel the price is too high, take out supplemental insurance if possible.

It sounds like you either have an axe to grid with a dentist that did a poor job or feel like you were price gouged.

 

[Thomas Bird]

Some dentists are better than others just like doctors, nurses, or anyone that provides a service. Did the same dentist do both of your bridges? Was it a PFM (porcelain fused to metal) or pure porcelain bridge? PFM bridges are stronger. Did you take care of your bridge by flossing under it every day and flossing around the real teeth on both ends of the bridge? How many teeth did you have bridged? If it were quite a few teeth then the bridge would put a lot of strain on the end teeth and there may have been better options. Other than that, there shouldn't have been a reason for you to have problems out of the capped end teeth. There are no sure things dealing with teeth, so telling me without a doubt my capped teeth will eventually need to be pulled may or may not be true. Telling someone your problems will eventually become their problems is just a blanket statement and flat out guess.

Yes, there are tradeoffs to bridges but depending on your own dental situation it may or may not be worth it to go with a removable partial. When I was 13, I had my front left tooth totally knocked out and I had a removable partial until I was 17 when my teeth had matured enough to be fit with a 3 unit bridge. I wouldn't trade the 17 years I had no problems and kept that annoying partial for anything in the world.

Dentists have to make profit to stay in business and the lab has to profit as well. My two partials were not cheap either. They are so annoying to deal with. You should take them out every night and have to soak them in denture solution. Then, even if you use denture adhesive and actually get it to stay well, you still can't bite into things as well. They often come loose and you have to reglue or go with it loose until the next day. Food gets impacted around it's edges, maybe up under it, and you have a piece of plastic you can constantly feel inside your mouth. I had a new partial made which I kept for six months this time around and couldn't wait to get a bridge. I HATE partials.

You're bad experience doesn't mean everyone will have a "long road of dental problems." To each his own and if you prefer partials that's fine. It seems like you are hell bent on pushing your thoughts on others. Anyone with missing teeth is going to have dental problems which will probably continue as more bone loss occurs, regardless of whether you have a bridge or partial.

You're wrong about bridges and partials being the only options. Implants are also an option. Very, very expensive but you normally get a bone graft if you've had any bone loss due to missing teeth and rods are implanted into the bone to which "teeth" can be attached. These often look less natural than bridges, though.

My insurance only pays half on bridges so if you feel the price is too high, take out supplemental insurance if possible.

It sounds like you either have an axe to grid with a dentist that did a poor job or feel like you were price gouged.

I had two different dentists do each bridge and I have never met anyone with a bridge who had never had problems with their bridge so spare me the "every case is different BS". I had a 6 crown bridge which means they destroyed 4 of my natural teeth to fill in two spaces and it was a HUGE mistake. After implants and bone grafts and two bridges I developed a degenerative root condition which my current dentist here in Thailand informed is quite common for patients who have had bridges for many years as your roots are not meant to carry the amount of stressed placed on them by fixed bridges. I have lost both my front teeth and nearly lost my canine roots as well. You should NEVER mess around with your canines period unless you want to risk looking like Popeye the rest of your life. My bridge problems had nothing to do with the quality of the dentist or whether I flossed regularly or not. It had to do with the fact that bridges are a TEMPORARY FIX and left me with more problems than I started with. I am wrong about a partial being the only option after your bridge fails?? YOU are wrong and you are living in a dreamworld. So what are people supposed to do about the destroyed teeth under the bridge? yank them out and put in 3 or 6 implants?? Are you out of your mind? What happens if those fail? So what your suggesting is exactly what I am saying: To fix a space, get a bridge and pray it doesn't have any problems for a decade, get another one for another insane amount of money after that and pray REALLY hard that one lasts more than 5 years, and then spend your life savings letting another crooked American dentist reconstruct your entire jaw bone in the form of extractions and steel implants and pray REALLY REALLY hard those don't have any problems...........and then probably end up with a partial denture anyway. Sounds great!
I'm sure the American dental industry is quite grateful to have delusional apologists like yourself around. You seem to have an axe to grind against partials, when in reality a bridge is just as much of a hassle as you cannot eat with them any more than you can with a partial and they are much harder to keep clean. God help you if you should get a cavity inside of one. And what happens if you damage a crown? Lucky you get to fork over more money for an entire new bridge. I wouldn't wish a bridge on my worst enemy, they are the biggest ripoff in the history of dentistry. And before ANYONE deals with the American insurance/dental racket I would advise getting work done overseas. Its cheaper, the dentists are more ethical and better skilled.
The reality of bridges are they are incredibly expensive, incredibly RISKY, and a temporary fix that trades one set of dental problems today for an even greater set of dental problems tomorrow. There is simply no getting around that reality. But I guess it fits right in with that whole "to hell with tomorrow" attitude many Americans seem to have.

 

[sqwerl]

I had two different dentists do each bridge and I have never met anyone with a bridge who had never had problems with their bridge so spare me the "every case is different BS". I had a 6 crown bridge which means they destroyed 4 of my natural teeth to fill in two spaces and it was a HUGE mistake. After implants and bone grafts and two bridges I developed a degenerative root condition which my current dentist here in Thailand informed is quite common for patients who have had bridges for many years as your roots are not meant to carry the amount of stressed placed on them by fixed bridges. I have lost both my front teeth and nearly lost my canine roots as well. You should NEVER mess around with your canines period unless you want to risk looking like Popeye the rest of your life. My bridge problems had nothing to do with the quality of the dentist or whether I flossed regularly or not. It had to do with the fact that bridges are a TEMPORARY FIX and left me with more problems than I started with. I am wrong about a partial being the only option after your bridge fails?? YOU are wrong and you are living in a dreamworld. So what are people supposed to do about the destroyed teeth under the bridge? yank them out and put in 3 or 6 implants?? Are you out of your mind? What happens if those fail? So what your suggesting is exactly what I am saying: To fix a space, get a bridge and pray it doesn't have any problems for a decade, get another one for another insane amount of money after that and pray REALLY hard that one lasts more than 5 years, and then spend your life savings letting another crooked American dentist reconstruct your entire jaw bone in the form of extractions and steel implants and pray REALLY REALLY hard those don't have any problems...........and then probably end up with a partial denture anyway. Sounds great!
I'm sure the American dental industry is quite grateful to have delusional apologists like yourself around. You seem to have an axe to grind against partials, when in reality a bridge is just as much of a hassle as you cannot eat with them any more than you can with a partial and they are much harder to keep clean. God help you if you should get a cavity inside of one. And what happens if you damage a crown? Lucky you get to fork over more money for an entire new bridge. I wouldn't wish a bridge on my worst enemy, they are the biggest ripoff in the history of dentistry. And before ANYONE deals with the American insurance/dental racket I would advise getting work done overseas. Its cheaper, the dentists are more ethical and better skilled.
The reality of bridges are they are incredibly expensive, incredibly RISKY, and a temporary fix that trades one set of dental problems today for an even greater set of dental problems tomorrow. There is simply no getting around that reality. But I guess it fits right in with that whole "to hell with tomorrow" attitude many Americans seem to have.

You're objectivity and credibility is obviously in question due to how emotional you are. Ad hominem attacks against me and crooked American dentists do little to further your cause. No need to be rude and nasty. You having the massive problems you've had and are having is clouding your own judgment. You're full of blanket statements.

I'm not apologizing for anyone. I had a bad dentist who recommended an apicoectomy on one of my teeth when two others later told me there would have been better options. I blame myself more than the dentist for not seeking more opinions.

I find it odd that your dentist would grind four abutment teeth - two on each side - just to bridge two spaces. All of the one to two space bridges I've seen or heard of only used two abutment teeth. Well you just proved my point...every case is different

I know others who have had bridges for 10+ years and had no problems.

 

[sqwerl]

But I guess it fits right in with that whole "to hell with tomorrow" attitude many Americans seem to have.

So let me get this straight...All American dentists are crooks according to you.
What about doctors and everyone else? Or do you just hate America in general and our "to hell with tomorrow attitude many Americans seem to have?"

 

[Thomas Bird]

You're objectivity and credibility is obviously in question due to how emotional you are. Ad hominem attacks against me and crooked American dentists do little to further your cause. No need to be rude and nasty. You having the massive problems you've had and are having is clouding your own judgment. You're full of blanket statements.

I'm not apologizing for anyone. I had a bad dentist who recommended an apicoectomy on one of my teeth when two others later told me there would have been better options. I blame myself more than the dentist for not seeking more opinions.

I find it odd that your dentist would grind four abutment teeth - two on each side - just to bridge two spaces. All of the one to two space bridges I've seen or heard of only used two abutment teeth. Well you just proved my point...every case is different

I know others who have had bridges for 10+ years and had no problems.

You keep claiming how emotional I am and crying about ad hominem attacks and blanket statements, but you won't address directly any of my points. I could care less whether you think I am objective or credible or not. Facts are facts and the facts are that bridges are a deal with the devil. Are you denying that bridges rarely last more than 10 years without problems? Are you denying your options after that are little more than dentures? American dentists are a small step above chiropractors. Actually they may be even worse. Don't believe me? Go onto almost website for any dentist you can find that does bridges and see if they warn patients about the very high possibility of the problems that I have already stated. Do you really think a dentist trying to sell you a bridge is going to tell you about the high risk of root damage? Or that if you damage one crown the whole bridge will probably need to be replaced? Or that your replacement bridge after your current fails will probably not last even half as long as the original?? I have never met ANYONE that had a bridge for more than 5 years with no problems let alone 10. My mother had two bridges fail within 3 years, my best friend is coming to Thailand to fix his 8 year old bridge mess now after his dentist told him his bridge would last the rest of his life just like my lying dirtbag dentist in America told me. I should have sought other opinions? I was a child at the time that criminal got into me and my parents made the awful mistake of actually trusting him. Christ used car salesmen are more trustworthy than most American dentists.
To do a bridge you need support on either side of the space. Thats why they needed to grind down both my two front teeth and my canines which was massive risk as you should NEVER mess around with your canines for obvious reasons. Every case is not as different as you seem to think. Every case of a bridge requires you destroy multiple good teeth and every bridge is temporary and will soon require not only the original spaces but the destroyed teeth to be addressed. I cannot think of one single scenario in which a bridge would be a good, long-term solution unless the patient does not care about their dental health 10-15 years after the fact.
DESTROYING YOUR NATURAL TEETH IS NEVER A GOOD OPTION PERIOD!!

 

[Thomas Bird]

So let me get this straight...All American dentists are crooks according to you.
What about doctors and everyone else? Or do you just hate America in general and our "to hell with tomorrow attitude many Americans seem to have?"

I never said ALL American dentists are crooks, I said most of them are and I completely stand by that statement. When you walk into a dental office in the states you are viewed as a customer first and a patient second. Regardless, I guess according to you pointing out how crooked and underhanded most American dentists are makes me hate America? Gimme a break. America and its "make me happy now!!" attitude should be obvious. Just look at your nation's debt crisis and wretched credit card culture. It must be really strange for you to know the rest of the world doesn't live that way.
I spent most of my life in America listening to how you can't trust doctors and dentists in other countries so when I eventually found out that was all BS and pretty much the exact opposite was true, it was quite a shock. Not only the dental care, but the basic healthcare I have received in other countries is so much better than America's its laughable.

 

[Becky]

This argument is not helping anyone - topic closed.